Separation
by Pernshinigami
Summary: yaoiyuri warning no like, no read! When Seto and Isis discover a mysterious intruder in Domino Museum, they ask Yugi for help, but not even Yami can handle THIS intruder!
1. Default Chapter

Title: Separation  
  
Rating: R  
  
Category: Romance/Angst  
  
Pairings: Seto/Joey, Yami/Hikari, maybe Rex/Weevil  
  
Summary: Seto and Isis run into a mysterious perpetrator at Domino museum. When Seto, Yami, Ishtar, and Bakura interfere, ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE!  
  
Warnings: Angst, all across the board...  
  
Spoilers: Only a description of Egyptian Bakura  
  
Notes: None.  
  
Feedback: Nyassakaiba2000@yahoo.com  
  
Disclaimer: You know me Icy! I don' own nuthin except my usual stable of OC's and any lyrics that I write, (and I'll tell you when I use them!)   
  
Separation  
  
Prologue  
  
Seto was on his way to discuss funding a new dig with Isis. The museum was empty, dark, and a bit creepy. He moved lightly, his footsteps echoing in the halls. He reached the room with the plaques of the Shadow Games and came face to face with HER.   
  
The girl had long black hair, covered by a cloak that looked convincingly like a wolf skin. The face of the wolf covered her eyes and nose, but Seto could see through the eye slits, eyes that were as blue as his own. The girl wore a silver pendant with an enormous purple crystal, and on the pendant, was a familiar eye.   
  
"What are you doing here??" Seto demanded. "This museum is closed!"   
  
The girl turned to face him. The pendant glowed. "Too bad you saw me. I won't kill you, but when you wake up I'll be LONG gone!"   
  
Seto blanked out, only to be found, unconscious an hour later, by Isis.  
  
Chapter 1 Seto's Discovery, Yugi's Mystery  
  
"Wow! They had a break in Jounuchi?" Yugi's eyes widened.   
  
"Yup!" Joey held out the paper to Yugi. "Appearantly Isis found Seto unconscious on the ground. He woke up six hours later and reported seeing a girl in the room where they had all that stuff on the Shadow Games." Joey shivered.   
  
They were in the back room of the shop. Joey, Tea, Tristan, Ryou, Mai, Marik and Otogi had come to visit. "How did he get knocked out?" Ryou wondered. "I remember he beat the crap out of Joey, and Joey isn't a pushover when it comes to a physical fight."   
  
Joey shrugged. "The article doesn't say. But there's a tiny paragraph at the end that says nobody was hurt and nothing was taken. So at least he stopped something from happening further."   
  
"She had this." Seto was standing in the doorway. He handed a sketchpad to Yugi.   
  
"Seto!" Everybody gasped.   
  
"yeah yeah yeah." Seto waved away their shock. "Yugi, I came to speak to Yami about this."   
  
Yami came out of the puzzle in shade form. "Let me see."   
  
Seto had accurately sketched the girl as he'd seen her before he blacked out. "I think it's a Millenium Item. The problem is that all the records say that there are only seven aren't there?"   
  
"There were seven powerful ones." Bakura came out of the ring, also in shade form, and leaned over Yugi's shoulder to see. "They were more powerful, but there were others made. I remember that before I was sealed into the ring, some people were talking about making replacements, in case the originals were lost or stolen, or destroyed. You, pharaoh, were about a week away from making your decision on the matter the day you sealed me away. But that, was already in existence. It belonged to your sister, princess Gaiana, but she was assassinated. High priest Seto tried seal her soul away in it at the last moment, but failed." Bakura explained. "She kind of looks like Gaiana, maybe she's her reincarnation, kind of like Seto is."   
  
Yami's blinked. "I don't remember my family, my memories still have some holes in them."   
  
Bakura shrugged. "That's because I still have the Millenium Ring and Millenium Eye, each Item contains a different portion of your memories. There are bound to be a few holes in your head."   
  
Yami glared at him. Then studied the sketch. "Wow, Seto, where'd you learn to draw like that?"   
  
"I had to learn concept drawing as part of developing technology. I eventually got very good at drawing." Seto shrugged. "Can you guys keep an eye out for her? I want to know what she was doing at the museum after hours, and how she got in without setting off the alarms."   
  
Ishtar floated over. "A girl in a cloak? Do you know WHY I had my Rare Hunter's wear cloaks like that?" He asked. "Its because if you don't have eye and hair color, a policeman can't identify you. I even had some of my better hunters burn their finger prints off so that they wouldn't leave any of them. No prints, no I.D."   
  
"That cloak, it looks kind of like a Silver Fang." Tea shivered. "That's pretty good sewing that she did. Maybe I should check out some of the local costume shops, look and see who sells hand made duel monster costumes."  
  
"That's a good idea." Tristan shrugged. "Otogi, do you know anything about her?"   
  
Otogi had picked up the pad and was scrutinizing it carefully. "Is this a duel gauntlet?" He asked, pointing to a part of the pad."   
  
"It looked like it." Seto blinked. "But it was white."   
  
Otogi looked up sharply. "White?"   
  
"Do YOU know anything about this?" Seto asked.   
  
"Yes." Otogi shivered. "Colored Eliminator Gloves were given to Eliminators with special skills, such as mechanics and cooking. Only a few of them were given out. They were the managers that maintained Duelists Kingdom. They picked symbols to have stitched on them. A normal Duel Gauntlet was given to their staff members. The white gauntlet was given to domestic staff. Their leader was Pegasus' little sister, Natari. She must have been one of Natari's peeps. I'll bet if you had gotten a better look, you'd have seen a silver dove on it. That means that she was an intermediate rank Active Dueling Staff member. Or A.D.S. for short."   
  
"Yeah, and that REALLY narrows it down Otogi." Joey rolled his eyes.  
  
"It could help..." Tea glared at him.   
  
"So what do we do?" Yugi asked.   
  
"We keep our eyes open." Bakura shrugged.   
  
"Here's my Cell phone." Seto shivered. "Personally, I'm afraid of that girl."   
  
"We'll call if we find her."   
  
~meanwhile~  
  
"NYA-CHAN!"   
  
"Natari-san, I'm back. Where are Carola and Selene?"   
  
"Selene is busy making her brother's life miserable."   
  
"What did that little bug do THIS time?"   
  
"He RIGGED a competitor's deck."   
  
"OH NO! WEEVIL!"   
  
"Yeah. And Carola and Fera are practicing, Fera's got some new lyrics. And they're pretty good. She's on a metaphor kick, but these are pretty powerful."   
  
"Oh, by the way."   
  
"What?"   
  
"There's an add from Kaiba Corp in the paper. They're looking for industrial sculpture for Kaiba Land. I think I've finally found a place for my apprentice work under Charla."   
  
"Just be careful, he's already seen you once."   
  
"I will. Got those color contacts?"   
  
"You... you and your costumes... will get you into trouble some day."   
  
The two girls threw back their heads and laughed. 


	2. Those who deserve do not always succeed

Seperation  
  
Chapter 2 "Those who deserve do not always succeed."  
  
Seto sat back in his chair. "I've reviewed your portfolio. Quite a good collection. Duel monster dragons was the original theme of Kaiba Land's art and sculpture exhibits.   
  
"I trained under the Artist Charla Charlemane. She was an Eliminator at Duelist's Kingdom." Nyassa said tentatively. "So they're alright?"   
  
"I'll have to see them for myself. I've got spare time now, why don't we go check them out now?" Seto suggested.   
  
"Why not?" Nyassa shrugged. "My car's in the parking lot. Unless you'd rather take your limo?"   
  
"I'll take the escalade." Seto grinned. "Its my first car. A bit old, but I'd rather risk wrecking an old one than a new one."   
  
"Sure." Nyassa rose.   
  
~the workshop~  
  
~Seto~  
  
"Nice place." I commented, looking around. I was in the entry way of a warehouse. Boxes of parts and junk were stacked here and there. Towards the front was a smithy arrangement, Nyassa probably used that to build her statues.   
  
"I started making models of Duel Monster Armor." Nyassa motioned towards a model of the Dark magician's armor. A metal version of the Dark magician was wearing it. "It keeps them from falling out of shape. And then, for the dragons." She pointed to a scaffold.   
  
My jaw dropped. I looked up at the ceiling of the enormous old warehouse. Soaring above it was an enormous Blue Eyes White Dragon. "I'm still getting a little funding from Industrial Illusions. I didn't need much help with designing it. But it took me, Selene, Carola, Fera, Natari, Rex, Weevil and Maeko to make the parts and put them together." Nyassa shook her head. "I'm not going to make something bit like that very often. And my funding from Pegasus is starting to run out, so I've only got enough left to make one more of those or a lot of little ones."   
  
She pointed to some of the statues scattered between boxes.   
  
I looked them over. There was a red eyes in defense mode, wings hunched and hissing, a brachio-radius poised to strike, puppets of scape goats and other small monsters. And then something caught my eyes. As real as life stood a statue. Not just any statue. It was a blue eyes white dragon, with its wings folded in a protective stance. Its head was bent low to nuzzle the baby blue eyes white dragons that were hatching from her clutch of eggs.   
  
I felt my throat choke up. The statue was beautiful. It looked almost alive. And... the expression on the mother blue eyes' face. I felt it stir something inside of me. She reminded me of my mother... vaguely, of the parents that I never had, of the love I had never felt.   
  
"I call her Mamagon. The name means mother dragon." Nyassa smiled. "That was the first piece that I ever did in metal. Until then I used to work with different kinds of plastics and woods, or sew costumes. That's how I made extra money." She pointed to a manikin wearing the robes of a flaming swordsman. On its right was another manikin wearing a mask shaped like a bird, it even had the bird's beak. I realized that it was supposed to be the punished eagle. On the other side, of the Swordsman's robes was a stack of boxes, and flung over it was the cloak that I had seen last night.   
  
"Where'd you get that cloak?" I asked, eyes widening as I stepped back.  
  
"Oh, that's one of the easiest costumes that I make. I make them custom and sell them for extra money. I'll bet that brother of yours wouldn't mind a couple of costumes." Nyassa grinned, with a business face that would have put my father's executives to shame.  
  
"I might. Do you have one that would fit a thirteen year old with growing to do?" I asked. "Mokuba's going through a growth spurt."   
  
"Don't we all?" Nyassa grinned. "Carola!" Nyassa called back into the workshop.   
  
Faintly, I heard the clunk of tools being put down. A girl with long, silky brown hair and a streak of silver in her bangs came out of one of the rooms at a dogtrot. She wore cargo flares and a vest. A red Yankee's hat was turned backwards over her hair, currently in a braid about a yard long. "Yeah?" She called.   
  
"Where did you put the children's costumes?" Nyassa asked.   
  
"In storeroom c-2. Can I go now? Before Weevil messes up the guitar that I'm etching? Honestly, when it comes to computers, he's a genius. But when it comes to using his hands elsewhere, uht-uh, like oil and water dude."   
  
"Thanks." Carola ran back to her workshop.   
  
Nyassa led me down a hallway to our right. "This place used to be a store house for extra dueling supplies. We've still got some bags of starchips somewhere around here. We use them for embellishments on some of the costumes. I gave Shiara Pegs a cloak with them sewn on the boarders for Christmas. She saw them and laughed."   
  
Nyassa stopped at a door. "Here we are. What's his shirt size? Most of these you need a black body suit underneath, standard wares at any dance shop."   
  
"He's a medium boys size." I watched, rather fascinated as she sorted through the boxes.   
  
"Here they are. Feel free to have a look." Nyassa motioned towards the box.  
  
After about fifteen minutes, I had three; An Armorsaurus Capsule Monster, a Silver Fang, and Baby Dragon. "How much?"   
  
"Thirty bucks each. That'll buy me enough metal for a miniature Mamagon." Nyassa sighed. "We're running out of funding here and I'd really like to get enough money for the good stuff."   
  
"What good stuff?" I asked.   
  
"Well." She sighed. "I wanted to create an Entertainment Company, specializing in animation, but dabbling in publishing and recording too. The problem is that we can't earn enough money. I was going to negotiate a contract with Pegasus, since he likes cartoons so much. But then Pegasus lost his memory. So we're back to square one all over again." Nyassa threw up her hands in disgust.   
  
I paid for the costumes, but as we were on our way out, I stopped near the statue of Mamagon. "Nyassa, how much will you let that statue go for?" I asked.   
  
"500 bucks." Nyassa said with a smile. "That's half of what I would normally charge, but that statue seems to be calling you."   
  
"Calling me?"   
  
"Yeah, my friend Fera's grandmother said that the cards have a heart to them, but I think the same thing goes for these beauties. Don't worry about taking it. I have blue prints for it in archives." She said with a smile. "Where you gonna put it? The entrance?"   
  
"No, I'm going to put it in my office." I said with a smile. "I'll have to tell Yugi that he's not the only one who believes in the heart of the cards."   
  
Nyassa grinned, packed, and loaded it herself. "Glad to do business with you." She said later as she went back out to her car.   
  
~later~   
  
"Holy cheese on rye!" Joey exclaimed when he saw the statue.   
  
"Yeah, and what's more. I found out where our mysterious perpetrator got the costume. Apparently this Nyassa made them when she started the shop. Speaking of which, Yugi, does your grandfather ever mention an 'Eagle Shop?'"   
  
"He didn't to me." Yugi blinked. "Why?"   
  
"This Nyassa started out working at a game shop with that name in America. Her friend Fera's grandmother runs it, and that grandmother also believes in the heart of the cards. She claims that it inspired her to make this statue. She said something about it calling me." I blushed slightly.   
  
Yami bent low to study the statue. "Its beautiful. As well made as some of the Egyptian statues that adorned the tombs and temples. And its got the heart of the cards in it alright. Put your hand on its head and close your eyes."   
  
I did, focusing on making my mind receptive as Isis had suggested. I felt... energy buzzing against my palm. "woah!" I exclaimed.   
  
"Yeah, Nyassa put her heart in that statue alright." Yugi's eyes were still as round as saucers. "You can see it. It looks almost alive!"   
  
"So we know where this girl got the costumes." Joey said thoughtfully. "But then how do we find her."   
  
That was when Mokuba came in. "Seto!SETOSETOSETO!"   
  
"Hey Mokuba! I got some presents for you."   
  
"Cool!" Mokuba exclaimed. "Let me see!"   
  
I handed him the wrapped boxes. Mokuba shook them. "It rattles, so it can't be clothing." He held it up to the light. "I'm not quite sure what to think! Oh well! I'll open them anyway!"   
  
Tea chuckled. "What makes you think they aren't clothes?" She asked, "They're in the correct boxes. Maybe there's a belt or something attached!"   
  
Mokuba had reached the first box. "WOW! ARMORSAURUS! AND IT LOOKS AS REAL AS LIFE!"   
  
"I got a couple others, since I wasn't sure which ones you'd want." I handed Mokuba the other two boxes.   
  
"OHWOWOHWOWOHWOWOHWOW!" Mokuba squealed. "Where'd you find them Seto?"   
  
"A shop that sold hand made costumes. That's where I got the new statue for my office. I'll go back later and buy a bigger statue for the lobby."   
  
"Can I go with you Big Brother?" Mokuba asked, with bambi eyes.   
  
"I was going to bring you along in the first place." I chuckled. "I want you to see what well made craftsmanship looks like." I turned to Yugi. "Do you think that you and Yami could check the place out too, later on?"   
  
"Sure." Yugi shrugged.   
  
~meanwhile~  
  
"I'm sorry Natari, we'll have to close it down."   
  
"Yeah, I guess we'll have to. Our record sales haven't taken off especially. We haven't sold much. There's very little we can do to save the place."   
  
"But Natari! There has to be something you can do!"  
  
"It's over Rex. We fought a good fight for awhile, but until we can get some good marketing, we'll have to close the place down."   
  
"Yeah... yeah I guess we will."   
  
"Weevil you can't give up on us now too!"  
  
"..."   
  
"We can't give up! It's not fair! You worked hard! We all did! Your work is so good its almost like they're alive! You can't just give up! You deserve to make it!"   
  
"Those that deserve do not always succeed Rex, that's life."   
  
"But... Sis..."   
  
"Rex, keep the red eyes statue that we made. You deserve to have it."   
  
Rex was left alone, crying under the protective wings of the Red Eyes Black Dragon statue that he'd designed and that he and Carola had poured their hearts into making, hearts that would no longer be present in his life. 


	3. Tracking

Seperation  
  
Chapter 3 Tracking...  
  
~Joey~  
  
"NYASSAAAAAA!" Seto bellowed.   
  
I heard somebody sniffling nearby. "She...she's not here." Said a familiar voice. "She gave up... they all did."   
  
I turned around. Rex was curled up, sobbing pathetically under the wings of a Red Eyes statue. "Rex Raptor!" Yugi bristled. "What are you doing here?"   
  
"I worked here, along with my sister and Weevil. Nyassa couldn't get enough business, so they... they're shutting the place down... but I can't just leave the place! Not after all the work we did!"   
  
I did a double take. Rex Raptor, crying? Whatever happened must be terrible.   
  
"But Rex, isn't there anything you can do?" Tea asked.   
  
He shook his head. "Look up Masaki, how much do you think it took to make that!"   
  
I looked up, sure enough, Rex was indicating the model of the Blue Eyes that was hanging from the scaffolding above. "Woah! I'm guessing more than we'll ever make!"   
  
"Very BRIGHT Wheeler." Rex snapped, wiping his eyes. "I... I can't just LEAVE all this stuff here!" He said desperately. Rex put his face in his hands.   
  
"Do you know where she went?" Yami asked, trying to be helpful.   
  
"No idea... wait! They had a concert that they had to practice for. I think they're down at Domino Convention Center getting ready." Rex sighed. "I can't sing, or play a single note, so I generally just come to watch or help them set things up. But Nyassa's record sales haven't picked up, if they did, she'd be able to keep this place open." Tears filled Rex's eyes again. "Look Kaiba, is there something that you wanted from her?"   
  
"Nothing." Seto sighed. "Come on you guys. Rex, do you know when it is, or where I can get tickets?"   
  
Rex thought for a moment. "I think you can buy them at the box office and its this Saturday at seven p.m."   
  
"My treat." Seto sighed. "I was hoping that we could ask her about it." He admitted when Mokuba was out of earshot. "I'll see if I can find a babysitter for Mokuba."   
  
"It's not fair." Yami sighed. "If she could work like this, she deserves more than having to abandon her work."   
  
Rex shook his head. "Weevil said that 'Those who deserve do not always succeed.'" Rex sniffed.   
  
"Weevil said THAT?" I demanded. "I'd never expect something like that to come out of HIS mouth."   
  
It's not fair. I thought. Come on Seto, do SOMETHING! "Rex, It'll be okay." I said awkwardly.   
  
"It will never be okay." Rex said bitterly.   
  
~Weevil~  
  
I waited until Yugi and company left, and then I slipped in. I was silently glad that Yugi hadn't tried to comfort Rex. Had it been me, I would have been embarrassed to be caught crying by my enemy, even more so if they tried to comfort me. Yugi needs to learn a few lessons about dignity, especially since he's the world champion.   
  
I gently tapped Rex on the shoulder. "Its me."   
  
Rex jumped, then turned around. "What do you want?" He asked sourly.   
  
"To comfort you." I said softly. "I just didn't want to do it in front of Yugi. I have more dignity than to be caught crying by a rival."   
  
It felt awkward to wrap my arms around his shoulders. Guys don't usually do that sort of thing, you know?   
  
Rex buried his head in my shoulder and just let go. There are times when I want to do that, but I don't. I'm a duelist. I entered the sport, not for the fame, or for the money, but for the prestige, for the honor, and especially, to make me stronger, to test my limits. The talented hawk keeps his claws hidden after all.   
  
Finally, Rex lifted his head and looked at me. His expression, and mine, were soft. Damnit, I have tears in my eyes too. There was a skeleton of an Ultimate Great Moth that we never got to complete. Its what happens when you put all of yourself into something.   
  
Our faces were an inch away from each other. The air suddenly felt heavy. I got the strangest compulsion to kiss him. KISS Rex Raptor?  
  
Rex moved first. Next second, I felt his lips to mine. Oh gods. I felt a jolt, almost like electricity, pass between us. Then my body seemed to move on its own. Our tongues battled it out for dominance.   
  
I found my back to the statues' chest. Panting, I looked up at Rex. He looked about as surprised as I was. He thumbed the tears away from my cheeks. "You shouldn't keep your feelings inside like that." He said tenderly, "Its unhealthy." Another, tender kiss. "Where do you want to go with this?" Rex asked, gently.   
  
"All the way." I whispered up at him. "All the way."   
  
~Nyassa~  
  
I brought the basket of goodies to Pegasus at the hospital. When I came into the room, he had his hands behind his head, remaining eye closed. I thought he was asleep for a moment, until he said. "Hello Nyassa, I thought you'd be practicing today."   
  
"Pegs, you know very well that at least one of us will come to visit you every day and bring you goodies every Saturday." I grinned, setting the basket down on the bedside table. "Charla sent you some of her pastries, and she says go light on the grape juice, they're down to their last case. Fera sent the latest Funny Bunny graphic novel. And I've got our latest album for you." I set them out on the table. "But you've got to get well. Shelly and Stev are at their wits end managing Duelists Kingdom without you."   
  
"I'm trying Nya, I really am, but my memory is... well... its almost like a huge hole in a fishing net, the fish escapes every time." Pegasus sighed.   
  
Dr. Taylor came in. "Ah, Nyassa, right on time. Tristan, bring that cart in here, then run along and visit Serenity."   
  
"Yes mom." The boy who wheeled in the food cart stood at about six feet. He had brown hair styled forward to a point and dark brown eyes. A deck pouch hung at his belt. I nervously fidgeted with the remote dueling system carried by a Battle City Duelist.  
  
The boy's eyes widened, then a guarded expression appeared on his face. "Pegasus." He growled.   
  
"Do I know you?" Pegasus asked.   
  
"You're one of Yugi's cronies aren't you?" I asked guardedly.   
  
"So what if I am?" Tristan asked. "What's it to you?"   
  
"Well then, keep your nose out of what isn't your business!" I snarled, neatly pouring a glass of juice for Pegasus. "Here you go." I handed it to him.   
  
"Nyassa, I can pour my own juice, really!" Pegasus blushed. "You don't need to fuss! I'm not made of glass!"   
  
I forced a smile. "I'm sorry Pegs, I had to shut down the workshop today. We ran out of funds. So I'm kind of in a bad mood."   
  
Pegasus chuckled. "I'd be in a bad mood too, if I ran out of paints for a picture."   
  
Tristan's cellphone rang. "Yeah?" Tristan asked. "Oh hi Yugi! Yeah, my mom managed to wrangle me into helping her feed the patients, so I'll say hi to Serenity and meet you later. Sure, I'll tell her Joey says hi. Oh, and guess who I ran into at the hospital," Pause. "Pegasus! And that girl who was going to sell sculptures to Kaiba, she's babying him!"  
  
"I DO NOT BABY PEOPLE!" I shouted loud enough for him to hear.   
  
~Tristan~  
  
I plugged my other ear with a flourish, then slipped outside. "I think she's the girl that you've been looking for Yugi. She was wearing her Millenium Item out in plain sight. If you hurry up you can corner her."   
  
"Okay Tristan, Marik says that he's got a motorcycle that can get me, Bakura, and him there inside of five minutes!" Yugi answered. "Keep an eye on her, Serenity can wait."   
  
That was a first, Serenity waiting for us? "Okay." I answered. This was going to be interesting. They might even be dueling later. Man I wish I were in on Battle City! 


	4. Separation

Separation  
  
Chapter 4 Separation...  
  
~Yugi~  
  
Yami and I merged while clinging to Marik's back for dear life.   
  
"Sorry about that Mutuo." Marik shouted above the wind.   
  
By this point I was getting used to Yami's voice coming out of my mouth. "That's fine." We answered. "I want to get there fast." Ryou let out a whoop of joy, leaning into the wind.   
  
"You've obviously done this before." I shouted above the wind.   
  
"Yeah, only I was the one clinging for dear life!" Ryou shouted back. "Its kind of... nice you know..." Ryou's wicked smirk told me just how nice it was.   
  
We clattered into the hospital parking lot. Tristan came running out. "Hey! Nyassa went down that alley there! I think she's got some kind of moped or something that she parked there."   
  
"A MOPED?" Marik threw back his head and laughed. "I can out pace a moped any day. I think we can catch her!" We turned and blazed down the alley. I had to hang on tightly or risk losing an arm. But sure enough, we caught up to her in an alleyway two blocks down.   
  
Nyassa was walking her moped down the alley, sniffing. I kind of felt sorry for her. And I would have, except for what she did when Ishtar and Bakura blew it.   
  
Nyassa whirled. "PHAROH!" She exclaimed. A look of shock and fear crossed her face, before it twisted into a guarded smile.   
  
"Why did you break into the museum?" Ishtar demanded.   
  
Bakura smirked, tossing a knife, nonchalantly into the air. "I'm a thief by nature and even I can't get by modern security systems. Come on, a thief to a thief, you can tell me."   
  
"That's enough you two!" Yami growled. "You're scaring her. What I want to know, is why you're running from us."   
  
Nyassa held up the glove. "I was the disciple of an Eliminator on Duelist's Kingdom. Surely that accounts for a reason to hide? After what happened to Panik?" Her millennium item began to glow. "And as the keeper of the Millennium Crystal, I knew that the Tomb Robber would want it eventually. I was hoping to meet you all separately." Nyassa's voice steadily grew deeper. Silver streaks were slowly spreading through her hair. Her blue eyes became lighter, almost silver blue, like ice. "But, being cornered, I am forced to protect myself."  
  
//A MILLENIUM SPIRIT!// I cried. //YAMI WATCH OUT!// I wasn't sure why, but I was panicking worse than when I'd faced any of the evil duelists I'd ever met.   
  
//Its alright Aibuo, I know.// Yami's mental voice was tense.   
  
"Pharaoh, your strength comes from your bond with your hikari, but when that bond is eliminated or lessened, then so does your power. I really wish I didn't have to do this to you, but..." Nyassa's body was enveloped in silver light. "SEPARATE!"  
  
I felt a shock run through us, heart wrenching, all consuming, such terrible pain. I screamed, it felt like my soul was being torn apart. Nearby, Marik and Ryou were screaming as well. I could hear them, but they were screaming with two voices. Impossible!  
  
My heart pounded, my soul was wrenched one last time. Then everything went black.  
  
~Joey~  
  
Seto and Otogi followed me, Mai, and Tea in his Escalade. Tristan rode on his motor cycle, searching for Yugi, Ryou, and Marik. Tristan pulled to a stop with a screech. "Here they are!"   
  
Dreading what I might find, I followed Mai and Tea. Seto and Otogi followed me to the entrance to the alleyway.   
  
"YUGI!" Tea cried.   
  
"Gods." Seto stated.   
  
Yugi, Yami, Ryou, Bakura, Marik and Ishtar were sprawled unconscious on the ground, and separate from each other. "How on or off the earth?" I demanded.   
  
"Yugi's alive." Tea said, taking his pulse, "But his heartbeat is irregular."   
  
"It would be." Otogi said softly. "He's lost part of himself." He nodded to Yami on the ground.   
  
"We can't bring them to the hospital." Tristan said, slightly panicked. "Mom would run a backround check."   
  
Seto nodded. "We can bring them to my mansion. There's more than enough room for them there."   
  
We had another problem. There was just enough room in Mai's mustang to put Yugi in, but when we tried to put them in separate cars, Yugi moaned in pain and writhed so much that Tea was afraid he'd hurt himself. So Otogi joined us instead and we all followed Seto to the mansion. I was absolutely relieved when we made it into Seto's house and had Yugi and Yami safely in bed. As I watched them in the bed, Yugi snuggled closer to Yami and settled down with a sigh.   
  
Seto came to the door. "Ryou and Marik have fevers, and Tristan says that they're in real distress. How long have they had their other halves?"   
  
"Ryou's had his ring since he was probably about 11 or 12." I answered. "And Marik probably had his younger."   
  
Seto nodded. "Time... They're probably reacting based on how long they've been attached."   
  
I shivered. "Yugi seems to be alright. But I think that will only last as long as he's asleep."   
  
"Yes, but his Yami will probably be conscious to sound the alarm." I followed Seto down to the living room and flopped onto the couch. Seto flopped into a chair and covered his face with his hands, he ran his fingers through his hair. "Ra, I never thought that Yami, of all people... he seemed so strong... and to see him like that... it just hurts, you know? I want to throttle that girl, and you can bet it was her who did it."   
  
Tea and the others came in. "I never thought that I'd see Bakura so distraught. He's just as badly off as Ryou, for all that he claims not to care."   
  
"We should contact Isis." Otogi said, taking the loveseat opposite. "She's his sister. And she has a Millennium Item too. Maybe she'd know how to take care of him."   
  
"I got the impression that Isis didn't exactly like Marik too much." Seto said thoughtfully. "Why don't we wait for them to wake up and take it from there?"   
  
"Yeah." Otogi said thoughtfully. "Tristan, my place is closest. Why don't we spend the night there and we'll be on standby."   
  
"Tea you can stay with me." Mai offered. "I'm about a block away from Otogi, Seto, here's my cellphone."   
  
"And mine." Tristan handed Seto his.   
  
"What about you mutt?" Seto asked, I didn't feel like punching his lights out about now.  
  
"I don't have anybody waiting for me. My dad's a drunken ass, he won't notice that I'm gone." I sighed. I didn't like admitting that in front of Seto, but I might as well. Considering that he's an orphan he'd probably understand.  
  
"Stay here then." Seto sighed. "I'll bring a cot up to my room. This is going to be a long night."   
  
That was when we heard the wail from upstairs.  
  
~Yugi~  
  
An almost painful sense of emptiness woke me. My eyes fluttered open. My heart was hammering against my chest. I had sweat dripping down my forehead. But the pain! The loss! It was incredible!  
  
Then I saw why. Yami was lying next to me on the bed. Yami was... here? But... Yami was supposed to be inside of me! He was supposed to be part of me! Tears of pain and confusion filled my eyes. I couldn't hold them back. The realization hit me, we weren't able to duel as one anymore. It would have to be him or me. I had lost one of the greatest thrills of my life, the Shadow Games. I could not hold back my scream.   
  
Yami woke out of a sound sleep. "YUGI!" He cried. He barely had time to assimilate what had happened when I heard the pounding of feet on the stairs.   
  
"Yugi!"   
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
"What's wrong?"   
  
They didn't understand. They didn't know... the emptiness... incredible... impossible! I was so empty, and robbed of the one thing that had completed my life. I clung to Yami, sobbing hysterically, trying, and failing, to remerge with him.   
  
"Aibuo, aibuo... shhh... I've got you." Yami held me, stroking me, trying to comfort me.   
  
//That... that horrible... how could she... she has one too... how...//  
  
//We cornered her Yugi...// Yami whispered. //We scared her and she reacted... shhhh... we'll make it throught.// "I've got you Yugi, it will be alright."   
  
"Yugi are you okay?" Tea asked frantically. "What's wrong?"   
  
Yami spared me having to answer. "He's frantic because we were separated. And for some reason we can't remerge." Yami told her. "Its like..." Tears were filling his eyes now. "He feels like he was robbed of something... so empty." Yami shivered, wrapping his arms around me and nuzzling me gently. "Shhhh... Aibuo, I've got you."   
  
"I think Yami can take care of it. Tea, if suddenly you lost the use of your legs, and you weren't able to dance, how would you feel?"   
  
"I... I didn't think of that." She said softly. "I'm sorry..." She said, putting a gentle hand on my back.   
  
I drew away from her. I didn't want her. I wanted Yami inside of me again. Nothing Tea did could help that. My mind was whirling in confusion and clinging to sanity. I think, only Yami's arms around my waist kept me from breaking down completely. I snuggled closer to him.   
  
They left. I snuggled against Yami. Some part of me wanted to be with him. Wanted him to do more than hold me. I leaned upward, looking into his eyes. He really didn't look like me. Yami's face was... delicate, almost sculpted from clay. So beautiful.   
  
I did it... maybe it was love, maybe out of sheer yearning, I reached up and placed my lips to his. Yami jumped, then shivered as he leaned into the kiss. Pleasure rolled through me, both of ours. It was not the comforting words of my friends that calmed me down. It was this connection with Yami, and his mental caress of affection that saved me. It awakened something in me, a fire I'd never felt before, not even towards Tea.   
  
//Yugi you...// Yami gasped.   
  
//This fire...// I pulled back only for air. Leaning upward again.   
  
//I couldn't do this to you.// Yami knew what I wanted.   
  
//Yami I need you... Its not like I'm some kind of child. I'm almost 15.// I slipped my tongue into his mouth, twining it with mine, begging him.   
  
//Aibou...// Yami purred.   
  
I didn't resist when he pushed me gently onto my back. Gods I needed what he was about to give. I wrestled out of my t-shirt as Yami teased my neck. //Take me Yami.// I whispered.   
  
//Gladly.// I felt his whisper in my mind. It slipped through my soul, penetrating my confusion and filling me with love. //Yugi... I wanted you so long... you pulled me out of darkness. For you, I can only do the same...//  
  
~tbc~ 


	5. The Deeper the Darkness

Separation  
  
Chapter 5 The deeper the darkness...  
  
Notes: Seto, here comes your big actions scene!  
  
Seto: Yeay!  
  
Joey: And since its Nyassa writing this, you can bet she's gonna milk it for all its worth!  
  
Mokuba: Seto needs somebody in his bed, he's too alone, cooped up in his office all the time.   
  
Ryou: What about me?  
  
You and Marik and your Yami's get part of the chapter too!  
  
Ryou: Yeay!  
  
Bakura: Hell yeah!  
  
~Ryou~  
  
The pain woke me. I was used to that by now... but this was different. I heard somebody whimpering at the back of my mind... //Please no... hurts...//  
  
//Yami-kun?//   
  
//Ryou?//  
  
//Its me...//  
  
//Help...//  
  
I woke up and got the shock of my life. My other half was right there, in front of me. He was writhing in pain, sweat on his forehead. "Yami-kun?" I leaned over him. He opened his eyes.   
  
"Ryou... hurts..."   
  
"Shhhh..." I hushed, leaning forward to stroke his hair.   
  
"So empty..." My darkness... empty? I would have thought he'd be the last one to admit that.   
  
Funny the things depression does to you.   
  
I pushed my Yami's bangs back on his head. "Hang on. I'll try to remerge."  
  
"Don't you think I fucking tried that already?" He demanded. "Its like something's blocking it." He cried out softly in pain again. "I... I can't stand it."   
  
"That girl... it was her spell that did it." I was starting to panic now. The sense of emptiness was starting to catch up with me.   
  
"That bitch... we're one for a reason... oooh... we're supposed to support each other..." He moaned softly. "That pharaoh got off easily. The longer we've been together... the more separation will hurt."   
  
"It hurts me too." I could feel the confusion. It pounded in my ears. I switched to telepathy. //My heart... I want...//  
  
//Ryou?//  
  
//Hmm?//  
  
//Fuck me, now.//  
  
//WHAT??// I demanded.   
  
//I need to be one with you somehow or I'll go insane.//   
  
//You make it sound so simple.//  
  
That was when he pulled my head down to kiss him. Gods he's a good kisser. I wanted him soooo bad it wasn't funny. We pulled apart for air for the barest moment. Then I pushed my yami gently down onto the pillow, kissing away his tears. //Gods, I never thought you'd let me do this... but I kinda like it.//  
  
//Knew you wouldn't mind.// Bakura answered.   
  
//Do you know how badly I wanted you?// I asked him.   
  
//From the burgeoning hard on between your legs, I'd guess a lot.//  
  
//Bakura!// I protested.   
  
//Hmm?// He asked.   
  
//Never mind.// I smirked, easing his barred sweater off of his head. //This thing looks like a prison uniform.// I said disdainfully as I flung it over my shoulder.  
  
He chuckled and pulled me down to kiss him again. "Why do you think I was put in that ring hikari?"   
  
"I'm not going to ask."   
  
~Ishtar~  
  
Unlike the other two, my Hikari wasn't doing so well. I woke to his thrashing and moaning in pain. "Hikari?"   
  
Marik continued to jabber in Egyptian.   
  
"Hikari are you alright?" I asked, panic beginning to well up in me now.   
  
"pain..." Marik moaned.   
  
"shhhh... Hikari, tell me where it hurts..." I pulled him into my arms.   
  
"Inside... in... heart... tearing..."   
  
No wonder. I thought. He had been with me all this time, we had been one since he'd turned 10. We hadn't always gotten along, but a bond is a bond. Like the Igbo once said of a debt, "It may grow moldy, but it never decays."   
  
Oh gods. I wasn't as good at the Hikari thing as Yami or the Thief. What could I do? "Hikari-chan." I whispered softly. I turned Marik onto his back, and did what Isis did, soon after our bond formed. I rubbed his back, massaging the pain away. "Hikari... I have you... it doesn't have to hurt... I'll never let you go... believe me... I'm here..." My heart was pounding as panic welled up, cutting me as thoroughly as if I had done it with a knife. "Oh hikari, don't be afraid... please don't... I have you..."   
  
"Ishtar?" Below me, Marik's eyes opened. "Ishtar... its aweful!"   
  
I turned Marik over and I pulled him close to me.   
  
"Yami-kun..." Marik said softly. "Take me."   
  
"WHAT!"   
  
"Make me whole..." Marik begged.   
  
"I've never... I could never... oh Hikari you don't need that."  
  
"I do... we're separate, but we can be whole again..." Marik begged, making his eyes very round. "If you knew how long I've loved you..."  
  
He's so cute when he does that. "You... but I'm... I've been horrible to you, how could you possibly love me?"   
  
"Hmmm..." Marik ran his finger over my lips. "Shall I count the ways?"   
  
I shivered, passion starting to take hold. It was easier for me, I think, because I've known him since we were both very young. "That's not an answer hikari."   
  
"Love never has an answer. It just is." Marik ran his hands along my waist, my hips, down my thighs. "It's the strongest power out there. Its what binds us together... all of us... its why I... why the other hikari's and yami's won't be able to resist each other. Why I can't resist you."   
  
"And I'm supposed to think about this with you fondling my hard on?" I asked reasonably.   
  
Marik gave me bambi eyes and tigger lips.   
  
"Relax Hikari..." I shivered, pulling him into a kiss. "I love you too. Let me show you how many..."   
  
~Joey~  
  
I slipped out of my t-shirt and jacket and flopped backwards on the roll away that Seto had unearthed somewhere. "So its just you and Mokuba alone in this whole house?" I asked.   
  
"Yes." Seto, oddly, kept his arms covered, but his legs bare. "It's a bit lonely sometimes."  
  
Silence, awkward silence, then, "Joey, I've been thinking, we're actually more alike than I thought we were. We both have younger siblings that we'd give our left arm for. We both have fathers who are horrible to us."   
  
Was it my imagination or was Seto's voice choked, like he was about to cry? Alarmed, I sat up and looked over at him. He was looking in the mirror. Seto's face was pensive. "Joey... if I show you something, you won't... tell the others will you?"   
  
"Of course not. Why?"   
  
Seto threw off his shirt. "Now you know why I wear long sleeves."   
  
I looked at Seto, and I felt my heart breaking. His arms were covered in scars, slash scars. His back had so many belt marks that it looked like a tic-tac-toe grid. "Ohh Seto." I could fucking well see why he kept that quiet.   
  
Seto bowed his head in shame. "My father... he beat me... after awhile, I... I started thinking that I deserved pain... so..." He was too ashamed to finish. Tears fell to the rug.   
  
"Seto, you don't have to be ashamed. I understand how hard it is..." I took his hands in mine, holding them to my cheek. "Its alright Seto... oh..." I reached up to thumb his tears away gently. Seto buried his face in my hair.   
  
"Joey." He murmured. I felt his tears. "Oh gods... I can let it out... I can let it go... Joey," he looked down at me. "I used to think that Yugi was so strong... that was why I couldn't leave him alone, why I couldn't leave you alone either. You never let anything get you down. And then..."   
  
"Its scary when the people we think of as strong break." I whispered. "I watched my mom break, right before she took Shizuka away."   
  
"It is..." Seto nodded. I had my arms wrapped around Seto Kaiba.   
  
"I thought you hated me." I blinked, pulling back a few inches.   
  
"Who ever said that?" Seto asked, eyes widening a bit.   
  
"Didn't you? You called me names, you... you picked fights..." I stammered.   
  
Seto rested his head on mine again. "Like a child begging for attention. It was like... like I always had to prove I was better, but I knew that I couldn't..."   
  
Gods, our faces were so close... what was wrong with me? I... I wanted to kiss him!   
  
Seto spared me the indecisiveness. He leaned down and kissed me gently, on the lips. I was so shocked that for a moment it didn't register. Then I felt something shiver in the back of my mind. I leaned into the kiss. I felt Seto's tongue run across my lips. I opened my mouth for him, fighting to maintain dominance and losing, but I didn't care. It was joy beyond joy. I realized that I loved him, I loved Seto Kaiba! I wanted to shout it to the world, but I was too busy kissing him.   
  
Seto pushed me back onto the bed and we pulled back for air. "Wow." I breathed.   
  
"Wow." Seto echoed. "Oh Joey, your expression was so cute."   
  
"We tell nobody that this happened." I said, looking up at him shyly.   
  
"Agreed." Seto panted. "Gods I never thought I would feel this way about anyone."   
  
I clung to him, to his warm, rippling muscles. "So what do we do?"   
  
"I want to see where this goes." Seto said thoughtfully. He wrapped his arms around my waist. I snuggled my face into the hollow of his neck. "Do you?"   
  
I nodded. "I want to shout it to the world, but I'll keep it quiet if that's what you want." I told him.   
  
Seto ran a hand down my cheek. "Gods, I never realized how beautiful you are." He whispered. Seto's breath tickled my ear.   
  
"Thanks, I think." I smiled up at him.   
  
Seto leaned down to kiss me again, and I was lost in those incredible eyes. I moaned softly, shivering in pleasure. "gods..." I whispered. There was no way that this was wrong.   
  
My eyes fluttered closed, Seto kissed my closed eyelids. I leaned up to nuzzle his neck, licking and sucking at the juncture between his neck and shoulder. Seto moaned, bucking his hips against mine.   
  
I felt like, like everything that had happened to us made sense, because it had all been leading up to this point. I continued working my lips down his shoulder. Meanwhile, Seto had made his way to the nerves at the back of my neck. I cried out softly in pleasure. "Seto..."   
  
"Hmm?" He murmured, licking at the point.   
  
"We're going to need turtlenecks tomorrow." I stated.   
  
He chuckled. "Silly puppy." Seto murmured affectionately.   
  
My hands slid down his sides, down his hips, resting on his butt. Panting, Seto dug his fingers into my hips, caressing my sides. Our lips met again. Seto's hand shot out to the nightstand, reaching for the light cord. Finding it, the lights went out, and I found security at last, in the arms of my love. 


	6. The Morning After

Separation  
  
Chapter 6 The Morning After  
  
Notes: Mokuba: Breakfast! Yum! Just wait until you taste it!  
  
What will you eat, chocolate frosted sugar bombs?  
  
Mokuba: What are those?  
  
Forget it. But trust me, this is where Mokuba's more adorable side comes out.   
  
Yugi: I'm just glad he hasn't read Calvin and Hobbes. Could you imagine if there really were chocolate frosted sugar bombs?   
  
Mokuba: Maybe I can make some!  
  
Everyone: NO!  
  
Joey: (applauding his own performance) ENCORE! ENCORE! I want more!   
  
Seto: (facefault) You still haven't had enough?  
  
Joey: Nope.  
  
Well, I suppose I could do another makeout scene, to make up for not doing a sex scene before!  
  
~Tea~  
  
Mai and I crept into the mansion the next morning to fix breakfast for the boys. We had agreed to meet there the next morning, and so here we were. We entered the kitchen to find it not empty.   
  
Mokuba was rummaging through the cupboards. He emerged from the enormous cabinet with a box of Fruit Loops under each arm, a can of whipped cream in his hand, and several pixie sticks dangling from the side of his mouth. "Yum! Hi Tea! Hello Mai! Come to join us for breakfast?"   
  
"You um, could say that." Mai answered.   
  
Mokuba spat the pixie sticks onto the kitchen island. "Great! I'll get out extra bowls." He stacked the boxes of Fruit Loops on top of each other and the whipped cream on top of that.  
  
"Um... Mokuba, are you supposed to be eating that?" I asked nervously.   
  
"Oh, its not for me, its for Seto and Joey! They're still asleep, I heard weird noises from their room late last night, and they're still asleep, whatever they were doing. So I thought they could use something to wake them up." Mokuba answered  
  
"Weird noises?" Mai asked, "What kind of weird noises?"   
  
Mokuba shrugged. "They were moaning and calling each other's names a lot. Other'n that, I don't know really how to describe it."   
  
Mai and I looked at each other. "You don't think they were..." I began.   
  
Mai hushed me and pointed at Mokuba. "Not our problem." She mouthed.   
  
I nodded. "Actually Mokuba, we came here to make breakfast, so you don't need to make just cereal."   
  
"Yeay!" Mokuba exclaimed, glomping me happily. "You're so cool Tea!" Mokuba grinned, looking up at me happily. He let go.   
  
Mai and I began to collect bowls and equipment from the cabinets and hooks above the kitchen island. "Whatcha gonna make?" Mokuba asked, watching.   
  
"A bunch of things, do you have any bacon or sausage?" I asked.   
  
Mokuba rushed to get them. "Can I help?"   
  
"I suppose." Mai said, getting eggs, milk, vanilla and sugar out of the refrigerator and cupboards. "Lets see, pancakes, waffles, biscuits, cinnamon buns, molasses and sugar cookies for later, since the dough will need to chill a bit, bacon and sausage."   
  
We scattered to get equipment and ingredients.   
  
~an hour and a half later~  
  
The cookie dough was chilling, and the biscuits and cinnamon buns were baking. Mai was frying bacon and sausage and making home fries, all in the same pan. Tristan and Otogi knocked lightly. Mokuba let them in. "Wow, you three made all of THIS?" Tristan demanded.   
  
"Yeah. If you wait for about thirty minutes, we'll have enough for everyone to have a little of everything." Mai said, preoccupied.   
  
"We found Mokuba about to make fruit loops with whipped cream and pixie sticks." I explained.   
  
"And that was the point where I felt obliged to intervene." Mai explained. "So I'm making everything that my mom ever made for breakfast, plus cookies for snacking later on, because the dough needs to chill."   
  
"Yeah, I don't think he needs more sugar." Tristan agreed, looking over to where Mokuba was currently on his fifth pixie stick.   
  
"Done!" Mai exclaimed, happily heaping bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, and home fries onto enough plates for all of us.   
  
I pulled the cinnamon buns and biscuits out of the oven, and piled them on top of the other food, just one of each. Between us, we put together trays for the invalids upstairs. I then gathered up a tray each for Yami and Yugi and carried them upstairs.   
  
~Yami~  
  
I heard somebody coming. Silently, I pulled Yugi closer, as if to protect him from the outside world. I wondered absently why I was suddenly being so protective. It was probably the stress of being separated from my little Hikari. I smoothed his hair back from his face. I slipped into his mind. Yugi hadn't completely recovered from last night it seems. He still felt the pain in his dreams, felt naked and exposed.   
  
I slipped gently into his dreams. Yes, Yugi was having a nightmare that all the duelists he had ever beaten would come back and hurt him. How horrible. //Aibou...// I said gently. //Aibou?//  
  
//YAMI-KUN!// Yugi wailed.   
  
//You're only dreaming Aibou. Wake up! I smell breakfast!//  
  
Yugi's eyes slowly fluttered open. There was a gentle knock on the door.   
  
"Come in." I called softly, pulling the blankets up to cover my drowsy hikari.   
  
Tea came in, balancing two trays. "I hope you're hungry, Mai went on a cooking spree."   
  
She set them down on the bed. "Seto had really weird orange juice, its pink but it tastes alright, I checked." Tea grinned. "It was labeled blood orange juice. Mokuba said it wasn't really made with blood, but the oranges were red."   
  
"Wow." Yugi exclaimed when he saw everything Mai had made.   
  
"I don't think I'll be able to eat all of this!" I exclaimed. Which is true, normally, I don't have to eat. I'll do so to be polite, but I don't need it.   
  
Right on cue, my stomach began to growl. So did Yugi's. It was funny! Our stomachs were growling in unison!   
  
"I hope you guys are alright." Tea said worriedly. "Marik and Ryou got the worst of it, Seto seems to think its because they've been bonded with their spirits longer."   
  
I nodded. "It might be. I don't know everything about my existence. It was incredible though. I felt like a wounded animal."   
  
"It was like I'd been robbed of everything." Yugi said softly. He shivered, leaning against me. "I felt naked, exposed, vulnerable. I think Yami's arms around my shoulders was the only thing that kept me from going insane last night."   
  
"Seto compared it to losing a limb and not being able to do what you wanted to because of it." Tea said, looking shyly at the floor.   
  
"Seto knows a lot about human nature." I acknowledged.   
  
"By the way Yami, what are the two of you doing naked in bed?" Tea asked, arching an eye brow in inquiry.   
  
Yugi sweatdropped. I turned to him. //Aibou, its your call.//  
  
Yugi shivered. //If I can't trust Tea, then who can I trust?//  
  
//If that's what you want. I think we've been caught with our hands in the cookie jar.// I said with a mental sigh.   
  
I told her.   
  
"SAY FUCKING WHAAAT?" Tea demanded.   
  
Yugi winced. "Um... well... it did seem to help a bit." He said shyly. I wrapped an arm around his waist, willing my aibou strength.   
  
"And I looked different in life." I told Tea. "So its not exactly narsci... narsco..." I stumbled over the word.   
  
"Narcssiphilia." Tea supplied. "No, I suppose it wouldn't be."   
  
"I knew you wouldn't care." Yugi said dejectedly.   
  
"NO!" Tea protested. "Its not that...It's just.... sudden. I really don't have a problem with you being gay. I don't! Just be really, really careful who you tell, okay? Promise me you won't leak it at school!"   
  
Yugi brightened. "I promise Tea."   
  
I wrapped my arms around my aibou's waist. "Hmmm..." I said softly, burying my face in his hair. "This stuff smells good Tea. We'll come downstairs later, but if you don't hurry, I think Joey and Tristan will eat it all."   
  
"Okay." Tea nodded with a smile.   
  
~Seto~  
  
The smell of food woke me up. Wait a minute, Mokuba's not allowed to use the stove until he's fourteen! I opened my eyes in time to see the sunrise illuminating Joey's face. Oh gods. He's absolutely beautiful when he's sleeping. I buried my face in his hair, pulling Joey closer to me and attempted to go back to sleep.   
  
I was rudely interrupted when something small, soft and fuzzy jumped onto the bed. Somebody shouted in my ear. "ONIIIIIIISSAAAAANNNNN!"   
  
Giggling, Mokuba jumped off the bed. I found twisted tissues in my nose and ears, and my hair was covered in whipped cream. "MOKUBA YOU LITTLE RAT!" I shouted, sitting straight up in bed.   
  
"Huh?" Joey found his hair covered in whipped cream and the same sticky substance making a smiley face on his back.   
  
"MOKUBA GET OUT!" I shrieked, yanking the tissues out of my nose and ears. "I know you find this absolutely hilarious but since we have guests can you at least give us some privacy!"   
  
"What's that?" Mokuba asked, with fake innocence.   
  
"Never mind." I rolled my eyes. "Go on! We'll shower and meet you downstairs."   
  
Mokuba bounced out of the room, happy to have accomplished his mischief. Joey blinked. "Uhhh..."   
  
I grinned, coming up behind him and licking at the whipped cream. "Hmmm..." I murmured, as my lips moved downward. I dug my finger tips into Joey's hips for balance. "Let me get that off for you." I smirked.   
  
Joey shivered in pleasure. "That feels soooo good."   
  
"I'll bet Mokuba's standing outside and listening to you say that right now." I chuckled.   
  
We laughed. It felt good to laugh. Then I turned back to licking the whipped cream off. Joey held still, eyes closed, while I did it. But the gentle shivers that ran through him as I did showed that he liked it. I tried to make the experience, a little more... sensuous than normal. My hands slid up Joey's thighs, then across the waistband of his boxers, and down his thighs again, brushing against the suspicious hard lump in his boxers.   
  
Joey moaned as I worked my way back up his back, licking and sucking at the skin. Gently, ever so gently, I slipped his boxers off and grinned. "Race ya' to the shower!"   
  
Joey jumped and bolted after me. "Hey Seto that's not fair! Wait for me!"   
  
Joey tripped over the edge of the bathtub and landed smack on top of me. After my eyes uncrossed I pulled the shower curtain across the tub and reached out with one hand to turn on the water.   
  
Joey shook the stars out of his eyes. "Hey, nice tub, I'll bet you can fit two in here."   
  
"We'll find out later." I smirked. "You wash my back I'll wash yours?"   
  
"Deal!" Joey grinned.   
  
From his smirk I knew we'd be doing a lot more than just washing each other's backs.   
  
~Tea~  
  
"Gods I wish I had Yugi's courage." I told Mai as I brought our breakfast out onto the patio behind the house. "If somebody were to... to confront me about us... I wouldn't have admitted it."   
  
Mai wrapped her arms around my waist. "Come and eat." She said tenderly. "No use feeding the fowl to starve the cook."   
  
I leaned into the touch for comfort. "I was just... so scared... I don't want my parents to find out what we've been doing."   
  
Mai smiled tenderly down at me. "And they won't."   
  
"I hope Bakura and Ryou wake up soon. Marik and Ishtar should too." I said worriedly.   
  
Mai sat down and cut a good-sized bite of her pancakes. "That will happen when it happens. Remember that there's really nothing that you can do about that."   
  
I nodded, breaking off a piece of cinnamon bun. "I know, it's just very stressful. I keep expecting that thief to stab us in the back."   
  
Mai shrugged. "As they say in Egypt, its God's will. Only its more of a chance thing."   
  
I nodded. "That doesn't keep me from worrying." I answered. "You would to if it were a brother or somebody."   
  
"I suppose." Mai offered me a strawberry from her fingers. I chuckled, nipping it from her hand, then licking off the extra juices. It was a gesture of affection from her, and Mai ran the fingers on her other hand tenderly through my hair. "You may not have a Millennium Item, but you're still my aibou."   
  
Gods she's gorgeous, and so gentle. That is the Mai that I love so much. She may seem to be intense, maybe a bit ditsy at times, or act like one tough, big-busted broad. But deep down, her moods are much more intense. She's gentler, more tender than she seems. Mai is more vulnerable than people take her for. The act of being tough is more of a front. Considering some of the perverts that pass for professional duelists, I don't really blame her.   
  
I shiver as her touch slips like a ghost down my cheek and the sensitive part of the back of my neck. Mai smiled at me, leaning her forehead against mine. "It will all work out, you'll see."   
  
I really hope that she's right. 


	7. In Between

Separation Chapter 7 

Notes:  Me thinks my next fic will begin with Judy from Beyblades as an Andilite trapped in human morph. Wish me lucki!

~Nyassa~

My yami shook her head, sniffing as soon as we were in the relative privacy of the suite that I was sharing with Fera and Natari. "I... actually... (sniffle) attacked the pharaoh. He is going to be sooooo angry... (sniff) Aibou, things could not go from bad to worse could they?" 

"There's a light at the end of every tunnel Yami-chan." I sighed, leaning back against the pillows on the bed. I just wish I could see the light at the end of mine. I thought dejectedly. I reached out to wipe the tears away from her cheeks. 

My name is Nyassa. Let me tell you my sad tale of woe. It all started when my parents died. I was sent from one foster home to another. Let me tell you something about foster care. People do not want a teenager. They want a baby who will call them "mama" and "dada" and think of them that way because when he/she was taken in they were too young to remember. 

This all changed when I started going to school in Meridan, a medium sized city in Connecticut. I made my first friend in a long time. Her name was Fera, and she loved playing games of all kinds. I loooove games, video games, card games, board games and strategy games of all kinds, it doesn't matter to me! 

But I also loved to sing. That was how I met Natari and Carola. They were part of a cover band called the Triangle Sisters, and I was competing against them for a record deal. The contest ended in a tie between us, and the manager suggested that we form a new group. The Lambda Triangle was born. 

Soon after, Fera's father died in a car accident on his way home from Fera's first Duel Monster Tournament. Fera had defeated Pegasus in the final round in less than 5 turns, and that was WITH Toon World on the field. Fera's father, a duelist himself, left Fera two legacies, a Blue Eyes White Dragon, and a mysterious silver puzzle. When Fera solved the puzzle, a mysterious spirit came out of it. Apparently she was a queen of Egypt in life, a queen of games! 

News of the puzzle being solved spread. The uproar reached its peak when Pegasus offered Fera and I a job at his Tournament Dueling Center, Duelist's Kingdom. It turns out that our friend Natari was Pegasus' little sister! And she had recommended us for the job!

Since we both had skills in the arts, Fera and I were apprenticed to the Artist Eliminator, a French Aristocrat named Charla Chalemane. And since we weren't Eliminators ourselves, we were allowed to compete in the Duelist's Kingdom Tournament. 

That was where we met Selene. Selene was Weevil Underwood's older sister, and boy did she have an attitude! She wanted to win the prize money to start her own recording studio, and she was willing to sacrifice anything and anybody that got in her way! Selene defeated me once, even with Fera's spirit helping me! 

Charla was a lot kinder. She took me to the back of her workshop and showed me her treasure, the Millennium Crystal. It had been passed down from her ancestor, General Chalemane of Europe, he had claimed it as his good luck charm. But since General Charlemane's death, it had remained dormant. Nobody had been able to activate it. 

When I touched it, the most amazing thing happened! The crystal began to glow purple and silver, and a Millennium Spirit came out of it! With my spirit's guidance, I was able to defeat Selene. She didn't forgive us right away, until I told her about my own dream, to own an Animation Studio/Entertainment Company of my own. Selene offered to join us if, once I got my own studio, I would put her in charge of the recording portion of it. So Selene, Carola, Natari, Fera and I changed the band name to Alchemy, in honor of our tried and true team! 

Pegasus allowed Selene to stay on the island as another of Charla's apprentices. Together with Carola's brother Rex, an ocean duelist named Maeko Tsunami and Selene's brother Weevil, we made an art studio and raised money for the Entertainment Studio/Record Company by making industrial art for office buildings. Unfortunately, we couldn't sell enough of it, and just yesterday, we had to shut it down until we could raise enough money for more material OR sell enough art to continue funding it. 

There was a knock on the door. "Its Natari! I've brought Chinese food for dinner!" 

I quickly let Natari and Fera in. Fera had a roll of sheet music under one arm. Her guitar was slung across her back by a strap embroidered with a twined Blue Eyes/Red Eyes motif. 

"Hey, has anybody seen Weevil and Rex around?" Selene asked. She and Carola followed them in. 

Fera is rather short, only about four feet high, but she grows when she transforms to about 5'5". She has spiky hair, kind of like a human hand. Her bangs are blonde, but the rest of her hair is black streaked with red highlights. With a little bit of instruction, Fera can play any instrument, (or game) to perfection. She is also the only person I know who has mastered "Game Theory," an obscure branch of collage level mathematics necessary to create board and video games. 

Carola has brown hair, which, like her brother, has a silver streak through her bangs. Instead of a red skating hat, she has a red and white Yankees hat, and she normally turns it backwards so that it doesn't obscure her, "peripheral vision." (A/N: i.e. seeing something out of the corner of your eye.) Carola loves studying three things above all else, History, Mythology, and Philosophy. Her favorite philosopher is a little known French, political philosopher named Francois Marie Aruet Voltaire. (Talk about your long names!) Carola has a tendency to interpret the anime and manga that she watches and reads, rather deeply. She loves Duo Maxwell in Gundam Wing to the point where she imitates his hairstyle. Her hair was currently in its usual yard long braid, her bangs flopping into her eyes. 

Selene has green hair like her brother. Only her hair is longer and silkier. She added layers to her hair, which bounce as she walks. Unlike Carola, who's tall with a boyish looking figure, Selene has about the biggest bust I have ever seen. Her waist is thin. Her hips are wide, and they tend to sway from side to side when she walks. Her butt and thighs, due to almost religious strength training, karate, boxing, yoga, and fencing, are extremely shapely. Selene needs all those martial arts. When we first met Maeko, it was like holding a magnet close to a nail. Natari later joked that she thought we'd have to pry him off with a crowbar. Selene reads music as naturally as she breathes, and can come up with a tune at the top of a hat. That's part of why she was so upset. Selene knew that she had the ability to go the distance. To her, defeat was not an option. 

"I haven't seen them anywhere. Last time I checked, Weevil was going to find out where Rex went." I answered. It started raining outside. 

"Hey, um... Yami Nyassa, why do you look so upset?" Fera asked. 

"We were confronted by the Pharoah himself!" My spirit complained. "He would have attacked us! Three on two! I was only protecting myself I swear!" 

"Calm down!" Natari told her. She began setting out the cartons and pouring them into dishes. 

Natari has her elder brother's white hair, pure, platinum white. Her eyes are turquoise blue, and their expression is softer than Pegasus'. Her Reflection Millennium Item (the Reflection Eye) hung from around her neck, because she never got up the courage to activate it and lose an eye in order to use it. Natari is not a very social person, in fact, she's very shy. She plays flute, violin, and guitar. Natari's voice is very beautiful, almost like songbirds, or angels. My voice is okay I guess, but I always feel second to her. 

I stand about five foot six. My skin is tanned from spending too much time in the sun. My long black hair falls in ripples down my back, but it tends to get either greasy or frizzy if I try to style it. My eyes are the same blue as Fera's blue eyes white dragon. Fera took that as a good sign when I first met her. I tend to wear a lot of ultramarine blue. I prefer to appear on stage dressed in that same shade from my headband to my metal-edged, blue suede boots. On top of that, I usually wear a leather trench-coat, either that same shade of blue or black. Its very soft and it keeps me warm in rain or snow. My specialty arts skill is creative writing. 

The most remarkable thing about our little group is that except for Natari, (who is bi) we're all Lesbians. We keep it very hush hush, just our secret! Carola and Selene came out to us the exact same day that Fera and I did, so Natari had to admit that she was bi too. "It was only fair." She said. 

I explained what had happened. "I think that little crony of Yugi's ratted on us. And he wasn't exactly little. He looked about six feet high at least!"

Selene whistled appreciatively. 

"And I'm not sure what to do if they come after me again." I answered. 

That was when Rex and Weevil finally decided to show up. They were soaked. And as Carola observed. "REX! YOU'RE GLOWING!!" She swept her little brother up into a bear hug. "WHO ARE YOU SEEING? IS SHE PRETTY??!!" 

"Down girl." Selene commented, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's waist. Carola flushed and let go. 

"I'm not seeing anybody." Rex snapped. 

"Stop it you two, sit down and eat!" Natari chided them. 

"But Natari! When you're sleeping with somebody, you glow!" Carola protested, picking up the rice bowl and chop sticks that Natari gave her. Carola began to wolf down her food. 

Weevil and Rex looked at each other in alarm. "Is that true Natari?" Rex asked worriedly. 

"Now I KNOW you're seeing somebody." Carola grinned impishly. "Girl or boy Rexie?" 

"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Rex, Weevil and Selene shouted in unison. 

"Oh (sniff) alright (sniffle) I understand...." Carola put on an expression of gloom. "I'll just take my chow mein noodles into this corner over here." 

"No Carola! Come join us!" Fera's spirit dragged Carola back over. "I may not eat, but even I enjoy the company!" 

"Carola, you know what you did was rude." Natari chided her.

"You're so nosy Carora-chan." Selene hugged her lover, kissing her gently on the lips. 

"And six months ago I wondered what it would be like sharing an apartment with four lesbians and a three eyed bisexual girl with assorted fetishes." Weevil shook his head. "I really wish I never wondered. Especially after Selene's reaction to my duel with Joey." 

"Yes, well, sibling studies show that certain tendencies run in families Weevil. So you're probably just as queer as we are only you just don't realize it!" Selene teased, poking her younger brother in the cheek.

Weevil flushed, genetics was an old hobby of theirs. Selene tended to debate theoretical science, especially biology and astrophysics, with her little brother at the oddest times. This was an argument that the younger Underwood sibling never won, it was no surprise that he grunted an unintelligible response and focused on his food. 

"I wonder if Yugi's okay." Fera said thoughtfully. She slurped in some kung pao chicken. "I couldn't even fathom being separated from my spirit for more than a few hours!" 

"Wouldn't we both?" I asked. "I couldn't live without her." 

"By the way, has anybody seen Maeko lately?" Asked Natari. "I heard that he and Shelly finally hooked up." 

"Maybe, I wonder if he's gotten his boat yet." Carola said aloud. 

"Nope, otherwise he wouldn't have joined Battle City." Selene shrugged. "Or maybe he just joined for fun." 

"Yeah," Said Carola, "That does happen sometimes."

~meanwhile, Ryou~

I woke up around midafternoon. "Huh?" I asked. Then I remembered the pain and confusion of the night before. 

Beneath me, my Other half moaned softly in his sleep, almost as if he was having a nightmare. His eyelids slowly fluttered open. "OH RA!" He exclaimed, when he remembered what we'd been doing the night before. "I can't believe I let you be on top!" He growled. 

"I can't believe you let me either." I said, eyes round in shock. 

"I can't believe I let you fuck me!" 

"I can't believe it either!"

We looked at each other for a moment. "Cool." We said in unison. 

Surprisingly enough, my Yami pulled me in closer to him. He pulled one of my hands to his heart. "Feel that Hikari?" He asked. 

I leaned in, placing my cheek to his heart and listened. "Our hearts, they're beating as one…" I said, awed. 

"Our… activities last night, it brought us back in balance…" He wrapped his arms around me. "Gods but it still hurts. I'll be happy when we can merge again." He leaned up to lick at my lips tenderly. Then he sniffed. "I smell food. Somebody must be cooking…" He looked around. "Oh how considerate. Somebody left food for us." 

I reached out, pulling the tray down. My other half sat up, pulling me into his arms and slipped the tray into my lap. I blushed softly. How to proceed? Where do I go from here? I wasn't sure. 

My other held a strawberry in front of my nose. "Eat, you feel like you need it." I flushed deeper. He still shares my mind, but… before he'd never been this worried about me. I bit into the strawberry, sucking at the juices daintily. 

"Who says I wasn't worried?" My other demanded. 

"What am I going to call you?" I wondered. "I mean, my other is kind of long." 

"I know, but I don't have an answer." He said with a sigh. 

And so we held a meeting to that effect before Marik and his other half would troop back to their boat. It was Mokuba who came up with the suggestion. "Why don't we call them all Yami, like this, 'Yami Yugi,' 'Yami Bakura' and 'Yami Marik.'" He suggested. 

It made such sense that the newly dubbed Yamis in question agreed without any argument or debate, and from that moment on I called my other Yami Bakura, Bakura, or (if we were in bed,) Yami-kun. 

And so we packed up and headed back to our houses. Yami and Yugi had a lot of explaining to do, but Marik, Yami Marik, my Yami and I had a long walk and no explanations. I took my Other's arm in mine, leaning against his shoulder every so often. He squeezed my hand. 

"So what are we going to do with our day?" Marik asked suddenly. "I mean, we don't really have anywhere to go. I have no parents to answer to, you have no mother to answer to and your father is in Egypt. My sister kicked me out of the house because I wanted to take over the world. What exactly _do_ we do?" 

"Raise Hell?" Suggested Yami Marik, "Wait a minute, I'm Egyptian, I don't _believe_ in Hell!" 

"If you two BEHAVE." Marik offered. "We could go to a movie. I heard there's a new one coming out with Dracula, Wolfman, AND Frankenstein in the same film!" 

"Who are they?" My other half asked, curious. 

"I forgot you wouldn't have been around." I said with a sigh. "Okay, about a hundred years ago three aristocrats decided to have a contest to see who could write the best horror story. One of them came up with a vampire named Count Dracula. The second told the story of a monster made from human corpses called Frankenstein, and the third came up with a werewolf known simply as Wolf Man." 

"Cool." The two Yamis said in unison. 

"Who won?" Yami Marik asked. 

"Nobody knows, but they've been considered classic cinema since my grandpa was in diapers." I told them. "And recently, another film maker wrote a story about a man who takes on all three of them. The movie is called Van Hellsing, after the main character, and you know, it strikes me as the perfect double date." I said with a smirk. 

"Let's go let's go **_please_**!" Marik begged, trying very hard to look cute. "Come on Yami-kun! It's really cool!" One of the funniest sights I have EVER seen before or since is Marik giving his other half bambi eyes. 


	8. Secret Agent Hikari! Secret Agent Hikari...

****

Separation

__

Chapter 8

Notes: I went on a Manga run on Sunday to Kinokuniya books in NJ. It was so cool! They had a Beyblades Manga, plus the latest Shonen Jump. The Beyblades Manga was an AU of the show. Instead of Tyson they had Ryo Tatsuniya as the main character. When Dragoon first came out of Ryo's Beyblade it was SO funny! His reaction was approximately, "A body! I have a body! Yippie!" When my Japanese Teacher translated it for me I started laughing! It was so funny, because in the TV show Dragoon either doesn't talk or says something really serious, but here was Dragoon, acting like Veemon when Davis lifted the digiegg of courage! 

****

~Ryou~

The movie was almost over when I spotted them. Three girls were sitting in the row ahead of us. The first of them had long silver hair, pale like mine. The second had long, silky green hair, kind of like Weevil or Espa Roba. The third had hair exactly like Yugi's! 

I nudged my Yami. "Yami-kun." I whispered in his ear. "Do you see that group ahead of us?" 

He looked. "Yeah." 

"See what the girl in the middle looks like? Her hair looks like Yugi's!" I hissed. 

"Think we should follow them?" He asked. 

"We'd better do something, the movie's almost finished." I hissed. 

Marik and his Yami were too busy making out in their own seats to notice or care. That left finding out who these three were to the two of us. 

Just then the credits began to roll. My Yami started thinking hard. "Hold still Ryou." He hissed. He slipped the Millennium Ring off of me and held it over my head. Then my other murmured some words in Egyptian that I couldn't catch. I looked down at my hand. It had disappeared! Yami Bakura handed the ring back to me. "I made you invisible, follow them." He whispered loudly. "I'll tell the other two what happened when they're finished making out. I'll be listening with your ears." 

The ring had also become invisible, but I found that if I unfocused my eyes, I could see my outline vaguely. The three girls got up, and I followed them, listening to a very interesting conversation. "Aren't you worried that Shadi will target you while he's tracking Marik?" The green haired girl asked the white haired one.

She shivered. "I hope not Selene. I don't want to lose an eye." 

"But Natari, if it comes down to it you may not have a choice." Said the little girl. "I couldn't stop the reflection puzzle from activating once I'd solved it, and once she'd touched it Nyassa couldn't stop the Millennium Crystal." Said the girl with Yugi like hair. 

"Yes, well, your artifacts have spirits in them, mine doesn't." The white haired girl answered. "I'm not going to end up like Pegasus, and that means that I'm not going to activate the reflection eye." 

Reflection Eye? My other half wondered. 

"Hey, do you know when Maeko is picking us up?" Asked the green haired girl. "I want to go shopping, and besides, weren't you invited to the prom back home Fera?"

"I'm not going unless Battle City finishes before then." The spiky haired girl answered. "Battle City is way more important than some silly Prom. So Prom shopping is out." 

"But you'll still need a dress for the concert." The pale haired girl answered. "Come on, shopping, PLEASE?" She begged. 

"I suppose. Tonight, after dinner then." The spiky haired girl relented. 

"Okay, I'll see you guys then. I've got places that I have to go. I promised Weevil that we'd get him the part that he needs to fix our amplifiers." The pale haired girl got up. That was when I saw them clearly. The spiky haired girl wore a silver version of the Millennium Puzzle, and the pale haired girl, who bore a striking resemblance to Pegasus, wore a silver version of the Millennium Eye on a pendant around her neck. 

My other half tailed me at a distance as I followed the girl into one of the music shops downtown. She came out with a bag and a frame that allowed a person to play both the harmonica and the guitar at once. We followed her down an alley. That was when I saw him. 

Shadi blocked the girl's way. "Shadi!" She gasped. 

Yami-kun! Help!

"I told you what needed to be done." Shadi growled at her. "Why do you continue to defy me?"

What's wrong hikari?

"I don't want to end up like my brother did!" The girl begged. "Please! I beg of you! Shadi… just… just leave me alone…" She begged. 

Shadi has cornered the girl that you had me tail. She's got some silver version of the Millennium Eye on a pendant around her neck. She's afraid that she'll end up like Pegasus if she activates it. 

Shadi took a step closer. "I cannot allow you to shirk your duty as Pegasus' reflection. The eye must be activated, despite your fear of personal sacrifice." 

I'm coming.

The pendant around the pale haired girl's neck began to glow with silver light. "P… p…. please no Shadi! I beg you!" The girl's eyes widened as she sank to her knees in the dirty alleyway. 

The shit is going to hit the fan in less than five seconds Yami-kun. I warned him. If you can help me now's the time! 

The pendant detached from it's fastening. The girl screamed as Shadi thrust his hand forward. 

Almost there! My other half cried. 

The pendant shot forward, having transformed into a ball of light. Natari's scream of fear became a scream of pain. The place where her eye used to be oozed blood. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She cried. 

TOO LATE! I cried. I don't know what came over me then. I picked up the nearest blunt object, a large dowel, and swung it at Shadi.

Shadi raised his hand, firing a blast of energy that knocked me back against the wall. "Do not interfere." 

How had he seen me? I demanded to nobody as I started blacking out. I heard people running and shouting…

"Natari!"

"She's out cold! And her Reflection Eye!" 

"Shadi must have done it."

"Shadi will pay dearly!" A slightly deeper voice growled.

"Yami Fera don't do anything stupid! We can't remove it now without causing Natari permanent damage, like what happened to Pegasus! That would be her worst nightmare."

"I did not intend…" 

"We can't challenge him to a Shadow Game either. It's in the rules of engagement." Said another voice. 

"Yami… the pharaoh can." 

"Yes, but _WILL_ he?" Asked a voice I recognized as Rex. "After what Nyassa did to him."

"Yami is a fair man." I vaguely heard Maeko say. "He'd help people in trouble if he thought that one or the other party was in the wrong. As long as you don't cheat he'll be fair." 

"Maeko, Yami is very likely out of the question." Said the first voice. "After what Nyassa did to him he's not likely to be very happy if we come to ask for his help." 

"Where does he LIVE anyway?" Asked Weevil. "I know he hangs out at Domino Park and Domino Square. I've seen him around at Domino High School, Domino Museum, and Kaiba Land. Other than that I have no idea how to find him." 

"Wait a minute! I can't believe we're talking about this! We're not some gang! We're not Kaiba! We don't contemplate revenge! The best we can do is help Natari get used to having the eye! I won't allow revenge! I won't!" 

"Selene we've been through this and through this! Shadi needs to know that he can't run all over us! He's not our boss! The best way to do that is to strike back! We can't take this lying down!"

"Weevil do what you want, but do YOU want to mess with a Millennium Item Holder…" The voices were moving off.

"Hikari?" I heard my Yami's breath in my ear. "Wake up Hikari!" I felt a warmth in my limbs. My eyes opened. 

"Huh?" I asked softly.

"Wake up Hikari. Shadi knocked you out." My yami said gently. He pushed the matted bangs back from my face. 

"I can't believe I was so stupid." I said with a sigh.

"What did you do?" Asked Marik.

"I attacked Shadi. I mean, when he… he forced the girl I was tailing earlier to accept some kind of silver Millennium Eye." 

Marik and Yami Marik looked at each other. "No way. There is NO way, I thought that was just a myth!" Marik protested. 

"It's real. I saw them being made." Yami Marik told him. "I just thought that they'd never become active." 

"Well according to Bakura-kun they did!" 

"And that's not all!" I said as I wiped the blood from my nose with a tissue that my other handed me. "You'll never believe who came looking for her; Maeko, Weevil and Rex, and at least three other girls that I've never met in tournament play, and there was a fourth that I'd recognize anywhere, Shelly Oakley!" 

"Shelly Oakley?" The two Yami's asked. 

"Oh. My. God." Marik stated. "I stole a card from her once, her gate guardian. She wasn't exactly pleased about it, but I'd beaten her and won it from her on a bet, that was before I started the rare hunters." 

"Who is this Shelly Oakley?" My other demanded. 

"She's easily the most powerful Duelist in Great Britain." I answered. "She was also an Eliminator at Duelist's Kingdom, one of Pegasus' favorites. He let her actually make up cards! He style is so mercurial that nobody can keep up with it. If she makes it to the finals Marik, you'll have your hands full with her!" I told him, spitting blood from my split lip. I blinked. "Then again, how did Shadi see me?" I asked. 

"The answer is simple, he shouldn't have." Marik answered. "I think we need to pay Yugi a visit."

I nodded. "Shadi vowed not to stop until he's defeated Yami in a Shadow Game. If Shadi is in town, in Battle City, then you can be sure that Yugi is a target."

So we walked over to Yugi's house. It wasn't far from the theater actually. I found Yugi, exhausted, on a patio chair behind the shop with Seto, Joey and Yami. "Yugi!" I called, jumping up to try and reach the fence. My hand showed over the top. That was all. "Yami!" Jump. "Yugi!" Jump. "Let me in!" Jump. "It's important!" Jump. 

Yugi opened the back gate to let the four of us in. "Ah! Marik! What are you doing here!?" 

"I believe that if you wait five seconds that your friend Ryou will TELL you the whole story." Marik said wryly. 

"This had better be good Marik, Tomb Robber." Yami growled in annoyance. 

"Oh it is. You're NOT going to believe this." Yami Marik said with a smirk. 

I told them the whole story, how we'd thought Fera was Yugi. How my yami had put a spell on me to make me invisible to everybody except him. I told them about how I'd tailed the girl with white hair. I told them about how Shadi had intercepted her. I told him about the attack that Shadi had made on her. "And you're not going to guess who came to her rescue! Maeko, Rex, Weevil, THE Shelly Oakley, and three other girls that I don't recognize."

"So?" Yugi asked. "Who is this Shadi guy anyway?" 

"We met him while you were still having blackouts Yugi." Yami explained. "He challenged me to a Shadow Game. He nearly killed you, Joey, and Tea in the process." 

"And since then he's been _obsessed_ with defeating Yami in a Shadow Game." I finished. 

"Sounds like somebody else we know." Joey smirked at Seto. 

"Shut it puppy dog," But I noticed the tone no longer held the hatred and disdain that Seto usually put in it. 

"This isn't good." Marik hissed at him. "As long as Shadi is in Battle City Yugi and his friends are at risk!" 

"And you'd care why?" Joey asked. 

"Well, that would make two targets." Yami Marik said, wrapping his strong arms around his Hikari's waist. "After all, according to the rules of our clan we are in exile because we attacked the Pharoh." Yami Marik rested his chin on his Hikari's shoulder, burying his face in Marik's hair. "Of course the Tomb Robber and his Hikari may or may not be Shadi's targets." 

"Afraid Yami?" Seto asked. 

Yami jumped, and I realized that Seto had correctly interpreted his reaction. "I fear only the damage that Shadi may do to my friends and to the Tournament Participants if his wrath were loosed upon Domino City." He said stiffly.

"No, I think that you're afraid of this Shadi." Seto smirked. "And if you're afraid of this Shadi he's got to be powerful."

"Not as a duelist, but as a Shadow Gamer yes." Yami answered. "Seto, you have little to no understanding of the consequences of a Shadow Game, or a Penalty Game. These are not powers to be taken lightly. If Shadi wanted to he could kill you. He could kill Mokuba, and me, and Yugi, and Joey, and Tea, Bakura and his yami, Marik and his Yami, Otogi, Tristan, all of us. And he doesn't hesitate to kill anybody who gets in the way of what he wants." Yami said, turning to face Seto. 

They looked into each other's eyes. I saw, I felt the presences of the two of them. I realized that this was Seto's subtle way of probing Yami for information. I saw that Yami was truly afraid, not of Shadi, but the damage that he'd do. 

"Yami, that's always been the problem with you." Seto said, "You have limits, you never push them, and you're never willing to do whatever it takes to defeat your enemy. The only person you'd ever sacrifice for the sake of victory is yourself, and even then, if it meant hurting Yugi, you'd never even do that." 

"Yes Seto, I believe that there is always a way out without people getting hurt." Yami acknowledged. "I believe that there are limits and that they should be respected, for good reason. You have a God card in your deck Seto. Do you know anything about that card beyond it's statistics in battle? No? Yet you insist on using it, a card that could turn on you and kill you. I have not used Slypher once since I got it, because I know nothing about that card beyond it's statistics, and that is never a good sign. I fear, like I do Shadi, the damage it could do, the consequences of presuming that I could ever control that card. Look what happened when I dueled Marik for it." 

"Hubris, that's what it's called." Yami Marik agreed. "I'm sorry Seto, but that's your greatest psychological weakness and we _all_ know it."

"What's Hubris?" Joey asked, looking from one to another.   


"Hubris is the belief that you can even hope to control what you don't understand, pure arrogance." Yami explained. "Remember the Galveston Hurricane that we learned about in History? That's an example of hubris. If the weather bureau hadn't been so determined to prove the weather casters in Cuba wrong, scientists who understood way more about the weather of the area around the Caribbean than the Americans did then Galveston could have been evacuated. Instead, they insisted that they, and only they, knew how the weather worked and the result was lives lost."

"Oh. Hey wasn't that the story that we heard where the Walmart was built over an orphanage that was knocked down during the hurricane?" 

"Yes, it was." Yami told him. "The point is Seto, that you presume to control what you can't control and the result is that you end up in serious trouble. Let me handle Shadi, because when you duel with him you're playing with fire." 

"You, Yami, need to learn a little bit about sacrifices, about suffering, and then you can call me arrogant." Seto snarled. 

"Okay break it up!" I told them. "The point is that they might want Yami to go after Shadi for them. The point is that we're needed. And the point is that we don't even know where we're needed!" 

"I can find them." My other half said smugly. "The ring Bakura?"   


I hesitated. "Oh alright keep it! I'll show you how to find things with it though." He stood behind me, guiding my hands along the edge of the Millennium Ring. "Hold it here, and focus on a picture of the person or thing you want to find. Try Shadi as an example." 

I pictured the balding, tanned Egyptian. But part of me was afraid to know. If Shadi could do that much damage, if he could see me no matter what, would he know I was spying on him? Would he… be angry?

As if the ring had read my mind, it flashed once, and did nothing. 

"Hikari you need to abandon your fear." Yami Bakura told me. "Your fear of Shadi is blocking the magic. I'll protect you…" He thought for a moment. "Tristan, try locating Tristan." 

I closed my eyes, held out the ring, and imagined Tristan, his hair, his face. Then a picture came to mind of Tristan, ridding his motorcycle towards the hospital.

"Where is he?" My Yami asked expectantly. 

"He's riding his motorcycle. I think he's going to visit Serenity at the hospital." I said, shaking the image out of my mind.

"Good, now try locating Rex." He said calmly. "If we're lucky he's still with the others. We'll run down the list of people that we saw at the battle site until we find out where they've taken their friend, and we'll follow." 

I imagined Rex. The image came, much easier this time. "He's with Weevil, they're working on some kind of project. Natari, the girl we were following, said something about buying spare parts for a guitar amplifier, that's probably what they're doing." 

Yugi scratched off both Weevil and Rex's names on the list. "Okay, try Maeko now." My Yami said calmly. 

"I've never seen Maeko." 

"But I have. I was watching him while he went to rescue Natari. Close your eyes and focus on our link. I'll show you what I saw and you can use that to locate him." He answered patiently. 

"You're awfully patient." Yami commented. 

"It's magic Pharaoh." My other answered. "It takes focus and patience to learn how to use it, or to teach others to use it." He closed his eyes, and I closed mine.

My yami projected an image into my mind. I saw what he looked like. Maeko had a sailor's tan. His hands were callused from hauling nets. He had wild hair, stiff from all the wind and the salt of the sea. I knew from rumors that he usually wore just a pair of shorts. However, in this image he was wearing a pair of cargo pants, converse sneakers, and a Thunder Cats T-shirt. He had a powerful build, which probably came with the profession. 

I focused. "_Find Maeko."_ I murmured. _"Find Maeko." _

Maeko was currently at Domino hotel. He was speaking with Nyassa. Both of them looked very worried.

"Open your eyes hikari, and don't move a muscle." My other whispered. 

I did. I couldn't believe my eyes. My yami had moved back, and the dangle points of the ring, the ones that show where a person or place is, were not only glowing. They pointed somewhere to my right. "Woah!" I gasped. "I did that?" I demanded, looking at first Yami, then my other, then Marik for confirmation. 

Marik chuckled. "That was my reaction when I first started using the rod. Yes, you did it by yourself Bakura." 

"What did you see?" Asked Yami Marik.

"Maeko is talking with Nyassa. They're at Domino Hotel. They looked concerned, no, they were upset!" I shivered. "I think they've heard about Natari." I said with a sigh. 

"Can you try one more?" Yami asked. "You know what Natari looks like, do you think you can find her?" 

I closed my eyes, focusing on the image. Natari was lying on a bed in the hotel. She was unconscious. Dried blood from her bleeding eye dotted her face and neck. I could still see a ring of blood around the edges of her eye, showing that the wound hadn't healed yet. I opened my eyes, panting lightly and told the others what I'd seen. 

"Seto." Yami said calmly. "I suggest that we go pay them a visit." 

"I could help you find the way." I offered. 

"No," My Yami said. "No more magic Hikari. Didn't you notice?" He asked, wrapping an arm tenderly around my waist. "Your hands are trembling and you're panting. Your first magic takes a lot out of you. You'll get stronger with meditation and practice, but now is not the time." He said. 

The Tomb Robber extended a hand. "Yami, I'd like to offer my assistance."

"As would I. As long as Shadi is in town, Battle City can wait." Marik said, looking up at his Yami. "Much as I'd like to conquer the world, it wouldn't help if a psycho clansman of mine started attacking us. I'll work with you as long as I can be sure that Shadi is still around." 

"Sounds fair." Yami agreed. 

"To the Escalade Seto!" Joey said with a wicked grin. I laughed. He was imitating Batman saying, 'To the Batmobile Robin!' 

Unfortunately, the time for joking was past.


End file.
